Steven Stamkos and Other New Faces Cause Changing of the Guard in the NHL

As the dust of free agency settles, I’m left in a state of pontification regarding the state of the NHL.  This Free Agent season was by far a very slim one in terms of talent. 

This free agent pool had many old names though.  Names that, five to 10 years ago, would have had GMs salivating and clawing to get their hands on.  It seems that only a few years removed from sport domination, names like Owen Nolan, Brendan Shanahan, and Todd Bertuzzi are viewed as high-risk players past their primes.

I remember when Bertuzzi was an absolute terror—in ’02-03 he managed 97 pts and 144 pim—now he’s the victim of a buyout. 

How about Owen Nolan back in the late '90s?  Does anybody remember “The Point”?  The Finnish Flash (Teemu Selanne) has certainly lost some sparkle, and homegrown Mike Modano is now a checking-line center. 

Jaromir Jagr wasn’t able to arouse much long-term interest domestically, and Joe Sakic will soon be a memory for Denver.

This sort of changing of the guard has made way for some of the best incoming talent the NHL has seen since the Soviet Exodus. 

The Staal brothers have pushed the Suter family aside, and the Crosby-Malkin 1-2 has the shades of the Gretzky-Messier Oiler dynasty. 

Most teams are (wisely?) moving away from the grizzled veterans and are placing the fate of their team in the hands of the future. Most can’t even buy a beer in the States. 

Rick Nash has been the face of the Blue Jackets since the day he was drafted and Alexander Ovechkin hopes to bring a title to Washington.  Teams like Phoenix and Chicago are now in the hands of youngsters like Pete Mueller, Kyle Turris, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Toews.  For a point of reference, these kids weren’t even born when Shanahan stepped on the ice as a Devil. 

The fate of the NHL however does not rest in the gloved-hands of kids. There are still those who saw the NHL through the turn of the century and continue to dominate. 

I call these guys the “tweeners”.  They are not old men, but they are not kids.  Lecavalier is still the man in Tampa, though a new prince is coming to town.  Iginla, Thornton, Hossa, and Datsyuk are still big dogs in a big park.

These guys are in their prime, playing the best hockey they’ll ever play.  Too, these may be players that, in a few years, may have the same dust-covered name come 2013 Free Agency…